dance

So I know that I’ve been beyond slack in terms of blogging lately (uhhm.. 3 months!) but sometimes life just gets that little bit too hectic and the fun stuff (this bad boy) has to get pushed to the wayside. But! I’m back! Back from a month-long stint in the UK where I ventured to Italy, China and Bali, and back to my beloved keyboard 🙂 As its been a fair whack of time, I decided to bridge the gap with picking out my favourite 5 moments over the festive season (excluding Christmas and New Years obviously!). You probably wouldn’t call this a particularly informative blog post but what it lacks in information and opinion it makes up for in sunny, happy pictures 🙂 Enjoy!

Watching Misty Copeland live in The Sleeping Beauty

This night was a definite favourite, I’m a bit of a Misty Copeland fan and to be lucky enough to watch her live was a dreeaaaam! Her poise, strength and finesse was amazing. If any of you ever get the opportunity to go watch this girl then make. it. happen! It’s not very often that you get to watch a Prima Ballerina. She stole the show and my heart <3

Getting all excited!

The Australian Ballet performs The Sleeping Beauty feat. Misty Copeland

Woooo!!

My Cousin got married!

My youngest cousin Shannon from Launceston, Tasmania got married to the beautiful Loretta on December 2nd, 2017. So happy for them and so glad I was there to witness it! Unfortunately I don’t have many piccies from this night so these will just have to do..

The beautiful couple

Some of the fam bam

love is in the air..

My gorgeous Omi and brother bear

Became Australian Professional Ballroom Champions for the 2nd Year!

Woo!

One hell of a trophy

Steve and I celebrated 12 years together in Bali

It’s not very often that Steve and I get to fly somewhere and have it not be for a competition so on the way home from the UK we stopped over in Bali for a few nights to relax and celebrate our anniversary. We stayed in Seminyak at the Villa Seminyak Estate and Spa and got a villa with our own private pool. It was such a nice break from the hustle and bustle of life and one I think we both needed! The service at our hotel was beyond amazing but my favourite part would have to be the Spa. That Spa was just the cherry on an already delicious Bali cake. Anyone in the Seminyak area, be sure to hit up the Seminyak Estate Spa (it’s Asia’s number 1 Luxury Boutique Spa) because you will not regret it!

Steve and I at Ku De Ta

Strawberry mojito

Happiness is…

The most delicious Nalu bowl..

Cheers!

Our home @ Villa Seminyak Estate and Spa

I lobbed my hair off!

Yeah.. I always seem to do this. I make a pact with myself that I am going to grow my hair SUPER long. Like Rapunzel long. Then when it actually gets there I am that jack of it that I resent it and want to cut it all off. This has probably happened roughly 3 times in my lifetime and every time I do it, I’m bloody glad. Having long hair may seem like all that and a bag of potato chips but trust me doing it for comps, washing it everyday after swimming in Bali, or just dealing with the intense heat it creates is not fun. So if you’re considering the lob, bob or pixie and are feeling a little cautious, remember this.. It’s hair, it grows back! New Year, new hair I say 😉

Washing your ballroom or latin dress often feels like risky business but this feeling can be amplified if your dress is covered in feathers. Many questions arise when the dreaded feather is placed upon a dress.. Do I wet the feathers? How can I avoid them? If they do get wet is that it? Is the dress dead!? Well never fear as I’ve created this blog post to help answer some of those very questions and also to help shed a little light on getting your dress back to squeaky clean. I’m currently wearing a feathered dress and have worn a few other feathered dresses in the past too. Some of my previous dresses had the whole ballroom skirt covered in ostrich feathers. Expensive and fragile! Back then I learnt that if you wet the feathers the dye in them RUNS. I also learnt that if you have two different tones of feathers on one skirt (ie. light to dark) and you dunk them all in a bath, the darker dyed feathers will most definitely run colour into the water/lighter feathers hence leaving you with one medium-ish colour all over. #LIVEANDLEARN. So nowadays I go by the motto of ‘keep the feathers dry’. It’s easier said than done I know, but with these 5 simple steps hopefully you should be able to get the job done 🙂

Before I start I just want to say that if at any stage you happen to get any feathers wet then that’s it. The dress is good for the bin. HA! Joking! Seriously don’t stress. Think of a little birdie having a bath and remember it will dry back to it’s fluffy self so all is good! I just don’t recommend fully drenching the feathers ie. stuffing them in a bath and letting them swoosh around in there. That could be asking for trouble! But alas, if any do get wet, wait until Step 4 and just hit them with a hair dryer and they will floof back to normal in no time.

Step 1:

If you have any feathers on the sleeves or floats like I do, try and waterproof them. I like to grab a plastic bag and pop both floats in there and either tie the bag in a knot or secure with an elastic band just so no water can accidentally splash in. You can do the same for any other feathered parts on your dress if you like but if you are dealing with a large, multi boa-ed skirt like I am then I wouldn’t really bother as it won’t all fit into one bag. I just choose to leave the bottom end of the skirt hanging off the basin (see photos below).

Step 2:

Wash the torso, sleeves, leotard and as much of the skirt as possible as normal in a tub or sink. If you want to see my previous post on how to wash a ballroom dress then click here to get a bit more of a detailed version. I mix luke warm water with some normal washing liquid and I spray Vanish Oxi-Action (pink bottle) directly onto the dress on areas like the under arms and the leotard and I attack any tough stains with the Vanish soap bar making sure to really work it up to a lather using my hands and rubbing the material together old school washing style! These two products are my go-to’s for washing ballroom dresses and I would not even attempt to wash a dress (properly!) without them. In Australia you can get them from any Woolworths or Coles and I imagine they are quite easy to find in any country 🙂

Wash!

Vanish Products I use..

Rinse!

Step 3:

Drain away the dirty water and refill the sink/tub with only cold water and give the washed areas a good rinse. Not only does this help to get rid of any excess product still left on the dress it really helps to re-harden any glue that may have softened in the warm water. After rinsing, drain that water away and squeeze out any excess water in the dress.

Step 4:

Now, normally I would say to chuck the dress in the washing machine for a good old spin cycle but spin+feathers=drama. We don’t want no drama. So instead grab a towel and give the dress a bit of a towel dry before wrapping it up in the towel and transferring it to somewhere out of the way. Lay the dress out flat on top of the towel. For the sake of the photos I had the dress and towels on carpet but I did move it afterwards to a tiled area so that my carpet wouldn’t get wet hehe. Let it stay there ’til it dries enough to be hung up. DO NOT hang the dress straight away as the weight of the dress when wet will be too much and will stretch the material leaving you with a saggy, ill-fitting dress… Not hot.

Step 5:

Once the dress is dry, check for water marks. A watermark is when the water has run down the material and left a puddle like mark once dry. Generally with this satin material I have on my dress it is prone to water-marking. It’s a pain in the butt dealing with water marks I tell ya! But I think I’ve figured out the answer! Don’t try and spot clean/dry the water marked areas as this will just create more of the same. Trust me, I’ve tried. Instead you will have to re-wet the entire area that is marked. For me its the whole skirt. I did this by filling a squirty bottle with a little bit of vanish spray and warm water and completely soaked the whole skirt. I then took a towel and slightly dried it off before hitting it with the hair dryer and drying it completely. This will take away ALL the marks and should leave the material looking clean and even as if it were brand new 🙂

Boo Watermarks!

Squirt, squirt

Drying with the trusty hairdryer!

It’s all worth it for this! Photo credit: Yimsky Photography

And there you go ladies! And gents if you’re watching 😉 Hopefully your outfit looks (and smells!) brand spanking new again. Its a love/hate relationship I have with washing my dress. I hate doing it because it can sometimes be a mission but I always love the feeling of putting on a fresh, clean dress at the start of a competition. I wouldn’t recommend washing your dress too often as the material and stonework should be treated with care and to wash it over and over could be damaging. Instead, to keep your dress going in between washes, I really recommend buying some Febreze Fabric spray. It kills nasty odours and germs and leaves your dress smelling like flowers. If you have any more questions or would like to see a post on something in particular please feel free to hit me up in the comments below! I’m always up for new ideas!

There are a few grooming pre-requisites that any female ballroom dancer should be aware of before heading into a dance competition. Some things are obvious (no crinkly floats or skirts!) whilst others may not be so obvious. I travel to major competitions all over the world and nowadays I see its pretty common to get hair and makeup done by a professional but what about the other important factors that go into creating the finished product? Ballroom dancing is a highly visual and highly perceptive sport/art so if you want to do well not only do you have to learn how to dance but you have to make dang sure that you look the best on that floor too! The learning stuff I can leave to your teachers as it’s not so easy to give a dance lesson through a blog (I could try? Joking..) but I thought maybe I’d help a sister or two out by sharing a few things I find important on a competition day. The best thing about most of these factors are that we can ourselves control them and therefore put forward our best 🙂

and Whisk, Lecturing in Perth W.A a couple of weekends ago

1. Dress + Shoes:

When going into a competition I think these two items are probably most important (thanks Captain Obvious you say!) but I don’t mean just ‘having’ these things but actually the quality, the fit and the look of them. Obviously the style and cut of the dress is your own personal choice but some things to make sure of are that the fit of the dress is right, the colour is appealing and that the stonework is professional. Find yourself a dressmaker you can trust! Also make sure that once you have your dress that it is always clean on comp days, fake tan and makeup all over your beautiful dress is not a good look.

Shoes are an important one for me but maybe that’s just because I’m a bit of a perfectionist! I feel that the shoes should make the feet look elegant and beautiful because they are where a lot of judges’ eyes will most likely be at some point. Therefore, dirty old shoes are a not a go-er. Just imagine if you were going to a ball… would you wear a clapped out pair of dirty, worn out shoes to go with your amazing new ball gown? No? Well its the same thing on the dance floor! If you can, try to have 2 pairs of dance shoes; one for practice and one for competitions. Also, if you dye your shoes to match your dress then that’s taking professionalism to the next level my friend! Hands up who wants a DIY tutorial on dyeing dance shoes? Let me know in the comments box below!

Silver dress? Silver Shoes! Pic by Dancesportphoto.net 🙂

Black and white dress? White shoes!

Last quick thing to mention on this topic is smell. I go to too many comps where my gag reflex is triggered. Tan makes us not smell pleasant and coupled with intense working out, tight-fitting dress materials and closed in shoes with no socks it really isn’t a flower party. Invest in some Febreeze, wear deodorant and smother yourself in lovely perfumes. We want to knock the judges off their feet when we dance past them because our dancing is THAT amazing, not because we smell like an old spice pantry.

2. Fake Tan

Fake tan is pretty much a must for any ballroom dancer. It’s horrible and leaves us looking like Oompa Loompas in public for many days after the comp but unfortunately there is no getting around it. In my 20 years of dancing I’ve only ever seen one (Yes, ONE!) girl not wear fake tan to an event. That chick was ballsy and had the most beautiful porcelain white skin and was going for what looked to be a 1920’s type vibe. So it was for an effect to help with her statement but even that didn’t last for long.. 2 or 3 comps maybe? Then she was back with the rest of us, tanning up a storm. I have a blog post on tanning which you can find here but mainly for grooming sakes make sure your tan is even, not too orange or green in colour and don’t wear too much! Over tanning is probably worse than not wearing any tan to be honest. I’m very fair naturally so I never have the problem of being over tanned but I do feel that ballroom gals can get away with being a lot less brown than the latin ladies. I only ever really wear one or two coats of tan these days (my latin days are OVER!) plus I feel that having darker hair can let you get away with wearing less tan too. A tip I like to do if I do have a fair bit of tan on is to still keep my face a shade or two lighter but apply a deeper colour around the perimeter of my face so that my face still has light to it. If you match your whole face to the colour of your skin not only will you look like a carrot but you will lose your features too! Getting patchy tan after doing too many comps in a row? Buy yourself some exfoliating gloves, scrub it all off and start again girl.

3. Nails

SNS nails 🙂

Ah nails, it pains me to say this but ev-e-ry thing counts on that dance floor and sometimes it comes down to the most tiniest of details, especially at the highest level. It may sound super pedantic to say that even our nails need to look groomed but hey, that’s dancing for ya! I really don’t like wearing acrylics, I have done for soooo many years because my natural nails are short, weak and don’t grow so acrylics helped my hands look more lengthened and elegant. But that stuff is really bad for your natural nails. Nowadays I’m trying out SNS which is basically a dipping powder containing 5 different kinds of Vitamins and Calcium which help to create healthier nails underneath. It has no odour, uses no primer and requires no UV light to set. Unlike acrylic and gel it prevents damage to your real nails but feels just as strong and durable. Also unlike shellac, you are still able to have the help of tips initially to get you started with some length until eventually your real nails grow long enough on their own. If you are lucky enough to have long natural nails just make sure they looked manicured and maybe slap a bit of colour on them too!

4. Hair + Makeup

This one is a little bit of an ambiguous topic but there are a few ‘guidelines’ I guess that can be followed. Hair should be sleek using gel or hairspray to get a smooooth and shiny finish. Big, boofy and loose wedding type hairstyles don’t really hit the mark. The hair should be so tight that when you move your head the hair does not move, any wobbly bits need to be sorted out and there should be absolutely no flyaways! I did a low bun tutorial with my gal Rachel Macintosh a while back linked here where you can kind of get a vibe for just how sleek I mean when I say sleek. I mean like LEGO. Like rock hard. Get it? The ponytail part of the hairstyle should be pulled so tight that you feel like it’s giving you a facelift and any decorative parts and the bun should be pinned in a way that you cannot see the pins. Headpieces can be cool, just make sure they tie into your dress otherwise it can tend to look like a bit of a random after thought.

My hair for the UK Championships 2017

High bun with curls and pearls 🙂

Makeup should be clear, should bring out your features and should complement your overall look. I like to look at my dress and start to conceptualise a vibe I want to portray and allow the make up to reflect that. For example recently, I’ve been wearing quite a simple, black, timeless and bold looking dress so have tried to also keep my makeup along those lines. I’ve made an emphasis on a porcelain, full coverage base, kept with neutral browns and whites on the eyes paired with some black to give it a bit more edge and a retro 50’s glam red lip to finish. I do often rock this look but that’s what I feel most comfortable in and you do have to also feel your best on that floor too! If I was wearing silver or something more blingy then maybe I would add some glitter and some highlighter etc. So remember, it’s so important to have a clear image of how you want to look because if you aren’t clear enough to portray it, the audience/judges won’t be able to read it.

the filter makes my hair look black 😉 it’s still red guys!

I hope some of these things helped, I am forever learning new things along the way and that’s whats so great about dancing! It’s always evolving and changing 🙂 Who knows, maybe one day none of these thing will be important! We might all be dancing around in jeans, with no fake tan and our hair out flying everywhere.. you never know!

Love, Rachelle xx

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Ok, so I’m assuming that if you’re looking at this blog post then you are interested in a few sneaky tricks on what to do when your drain is blocked. No? Oh wait sorry, wrong blog! Those tips are for my other website gunmetalgreyplumbing.com (not a real website). You must be here for the Comp Day hacks? Yes? Well, quit farting around and let’s get straight into it then!

If you are a competitive Ballroom Dancer then you would be well aware of those “Comp Day Feels”. They are indescribable feelings that only one dancer to another dancer can relate to. Put simply there’s dry mouth, butterflies in the tummy, hairspray in every orifice, fake tan smell and (many) toilet moments. Too far? Sorry it was I know, but you know it’s true! There is just something about Comp Days that are so different to any other normal day and there really isn’t another way of recreating those vibes to prepare yourself. Some of us can be jittery messes on the day and others out there (me most of the time) play it a little too cool, hiding the fact that we are actually scared shitless behind an overly playful exterior. But no matter how we play it, Competition Days are always a massive energy burner not just from the dancing but from all the hype that surrounds it and that’s why I thought of a few pre-comp hacks that will hopefully take a bit of unnecessary stress away.

Not nervous at all.. HA! Follow me on snapchat @rachellemp

Firstly, the dress. The hot, crinkly, mess of a dress that has probably been left abandoned since the last time it was used. Now I’m not speaking for everyone out there but my dresses can definitely get on the crinkly side, especially when I have to squeeze two of them into one carry-on suitcase! At the moment my skirts have around 300 layers of material which means ironing out the wrinkles is not an option. But nor has it been for a while if I’m being honest! I’ll get to that in a minute but first I just want to say I’m not a believer in the whole “hang your dress in the bathroom and the steam from the shower will smooth it out” situation. Been there, tried that, set off a fire alarm in my room/the whole Bed n Breakfast and had to apologise endlessly to all the people out the front of the building in their pyjamas afraid of catching on fire. Plus, after all that commotion AND steam, my dress was still no better off! So yeah, I haven’t had much luck with that and I think it’s a bit of a myth really.. but if you’ve had luck with it I envy you! Actually no I don’t, because my hack is all I need 🙂 I came about this idea a few years ago when I had a dress with its skirt and float’s made out of Lamé material (very expensive, shiny type of material for those of you wondering!). Steve (the professional iron master of the partnership) was beginning to tentatively start ironing the skirt on the lowest setting when all of a sudden, the iron melted the skirt. Not ideal. We put the old hotel iron away and I decided to try to use a hairdryer on it instead and BOOM!! Seeya later wrinkles. It was smoooooth and silky and amazing. This dress had been shipped from England, so she was like, really wrinkly. Since then its been something I do on all my dresses and it works an absolute treat. I’ve tried on a variety of materials too, ranging from pearl chiffon to crystal organza and all work fine. The best thing is you can even take the hairdryer to the comp and do any touch ups when you get there! I just recently gave this idea to a World Professional Finalist after I had been watching her struggle for 10 minutes with her steamer trying to work wonders on her floats and she was extremely grateful! We got the job done in no time!

Before, bit of a flat crinkly mess..

After, smooth and fluffy!

Next up, why don’t you try to pre-make your own isotonic drink the night before? All those unfortunate “feelings” I mentioned previously equate to one dehydrated person! Put a bunch of dancing and sweating on top of that and you will quickly feel like your running out of steam. So it’s important you get those liquids in without pumping yourself full of sugar from pre-made “energy” drinks. Steve is rarely seen in the kitchen but if there is one time when you will find him there it will be on a Comp Day where he will be whipping up a LARGE isotonic drink for us to take to the competition. It really is as simple as:

water

2 lemons

salt

coconut water

Before I start, I’ll just tell you that I don’t have exact measurements for this drink sorry as it’s mostly about playing with the ingredients to find something your taste buds enjoy. Generally we buy a massive bottle of Evian (the biggest), transfer about half the water to our tummy’s or another empty bottle, squeeze in the juice of 2 lemons, bang in a pinch of salt, and then fill up the rest of the bottle with coconut water. Very specific I know 😉 haha. We just try to taste it as we go along and see what it needs more or less of. If we are travelling and don’t have access to all of these ingredients (who wants to buy salt on a weekend away?) then we have a simpler version where we mix fruit juice (I love any mango versions), water and coconut water into a bottle. Not only are they delishhhhh, but they are so much better for you than those sugary lolly drinks! Remember it’s really important to replenish those lost electrolytes!

Finally are a few key items that we always TRY to make sure we pack beforehand so that we aren’t left stumped at the competition.

Nurofen Gel- This stuff is my JAM! It works wonders on inflammation and targeting pain and is quick, easy and scent free! Sorry Deep Heat you may be good but you make my nose bleed. I love using it on my knees if they feel a little niggly after I’ve danced (aarrhhh.. every damn day! haha I kid, I kid. But seriously..) and always keep it close by for quick application on my neck and shoulders incase Tango was a little bit… rough 😉

Safety Pins- An obvious one but it’s crazy the amount of times I’ve had guys come up to me at a Comp scrounging around for pins! That number ain’t going to just magically levitate in positions guys! Pack some spares just incase you or a friend needs them! We usually attach a bunch of them onto Steve’s suit bag as it is literally at every. Single. Competition.

Clear Contact and Scissors- I mean this one is optional I’d say but most guys these days like to cover their paper back numbers in clear contact. This way if there are any unwanted sharp elbows that happen to fly by then your number is covered! It’s a perfect option for those times you have to wear the same number for many rounds or days (Blackpool). The scissors are also handy for those occasions when you get your number and its the size of Australia. Sometimes the back numbers these days are HOOGE so if you can cut around it neatly without chopping off any important info (sponsors/name of the comp) then I’m sure it’s ok 🙂 Just note that not all comps these days have paper back numbers! Most comps in Australia these days provide numbers that are now made out of material.. so contact isn’t necessary!

I hope some of these hacks help to eliminate some stress on your next Competition Day! But as for those nerves/butterflies.. just pray that they never go away because as long as they are there, it shows that you care! #POET *drops mic and leaves room*

Performing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show the other morning.. the nerves were off the chain!

P.S To all my Aussie dancing buddies competing in the Australian Dancesport Championships this weekend; GOOD LUCK! I will see you there or I will see you on a another time 😉

Love, Rachelle

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I love dancing, it’s my life and it’s who I am. I will never regret my decision of dedicating my life to dance but sometimes it is easy to lose direction, inspiration and motivation (I am human guys hehe!) As an artist it’s so important to feel inspired or “switched on” so that the performances we give can be something to be remembered, but what do we do if we simply just don’t feel like doing it? I’ve been in that boat more than once believe me and what I’ve found is that it’s important to firstly figure out why you feel this way and then to try to find solutions to get that fire burning again! Oh and for those of you dance junkies out there that never tire of dancing or anything to do with it (my boyfriend/dance partner included) then this may not really apply to you!! You lucky things 😉

Photo cred.. Frederic Frenessen 🙂

First off, figuring out why you don’t want to put your dance shoes on. Ask yourself am I tired? I don’t mean “Oh I had a late night last night” tired, I mean like yeah I’ve done 6 comps in the last two months or I can’t remember the last time I had a day off. Sometimes the monotony of going into the studio or dancing competitions can be just as tiring mentally as it is physically. If I don’t take one full day off in at least a fortnight then I know I will start to resent the studio. This then leads to blurry practices with no real plan or path. It’s all too easy to go into auto pilot and just dance around with no purpose. Of course it isn’t always feasible to take time off but at least I am aware of it and I try my best! The older and more advanced you get in sport/art (whatever you want to call it!! haha) the more it becomes a mental game rather than something physical. Thats why it’s so important to distinguish between the two.

Love a good coffee.. ooh and some pretty flowers!

If you are just tired physically, take a day off, go get a coffee instead. You’re not going to forget everything and it will probably do you more good than going in there slogging away at something you have no desire for. However if it’s more than that and you are a full-time dancer feeling mentally weak then maybe you need to look at scheduling in some PROPER time off. After 11 months of non-stop training and competitions I took a solid week off the other week and I can’t even explain how good for my dancing it was. I came back feeling refreshed and ready to work on improving myself whereas the week before it I felt stale and exhausted. If taking time away from the floor doesn’t work or isn’t the right answer then maybe some visual inspiration is the key..

These days we are so lucky to have the magnificent internet to help us with our dancing woes. You can go on YouTube and find lectures, new routines, lessons on timing, floorshows.. you name it, it’s on there! So, something that works for me on those days before I head into practice, is to watch some dance related videos on the tube as I feel it really gets me inspired to get in there and get working! Some of my favourite ladies to watch are Anne Gleave, Loraine Barry, Charlotte Jorgensen, Alessandra Bucciarelli and Alessia Betti, but there are literally videos of anyone on there! Heck, there’s some embarrassing one’s of me on there too!! So people, if your favourite dancer cant inspire you, nothing can. So get watching!

Another option is to go and watch a live performance. One of our major teachers in the U.K used to always stress to Steve and I that we need to go and watch the Ballet. Not only to see the beauty of their lines in the flesh but also to find inspiration in what they do and bring that into our own performance. Alas, I haven’t been to an abundance of shows but I have been to the ballet a few times and have watched a couple of musicals and circus shows too. It’s a great way of making you appreciate other forms of art and can really give you a new lease on your own style. Ballroom is heavily based around ballet in my eyes so I just love watching the way they move what looks to be so effortlessly, but the dancer in me knows it takes great strength and dedication. Something else I found helpful was to take some lessons in ballet or another dance form. I did ballet for roughly a year or so and it was so interesting to try to find the correlations between the two styles. I loved learning a different form of dance and it was so much fun to try to bring some of the things I had learnt in those lessons into my ballroom practice (TRY being the optimistic word hehe).

The other day Steve and I went to watch the Russian Ballet perform Swan Lake in a theatre close to home. IT WAS AMAZING!! It’s the first time I have ever been lucky enough to watch classical ballet and it was just so breathtaking. Of course there were a few standout performers in there and that’s what I love about dancing is that everyone is so different. It’s all about finding that special something that you love to look at and then letting that inspire you to create your own interpretation/feeling. It definitely had me itching to get back in the studio to improve myself so maybe it might work for you too!?

Watching the Russian Ballet perform Swan Lake

Getting excited!

Lastly, if none of these things work then maybe it’s best to look toward your next goal.. whether it’s a competition, medal day or a floorshow. We start our training leading up to any major comp about a month or so beforehand and I love the feeling of the build up to a big competition. It gives me a clear sight as to what I’m working toward and I can see a finish line. That way I know all this hard work is actually for something too! The body definitely starts to wake up and get excited about the task rather than just slogging away thinking it’s the everyday grind. So try to think of whatever is your next biggie and see that as your major driver everytime you can’t be bothered. Something super important for me is making sure that I am physically fit enough for the comp so that I can show my best dancing. This is why we turn up the heat on our stamina practices a month before the comp and not simply a week before! But horses for courses guys, what works for me might not necessarily be the best option for you so it’s all about being instintive and listening to your body 😉

So if you’re feeling a little blah don’t worry! Because we have all been there 🙂 Maybe give some of these ideas a go and see if they can bring your sparkle back! What are some things you like to do to find motivation/inspiration? Leave me some love below xxx

As you may or may not know, these past few weeks I have been in Ye Olde London town preparing for a rather large competition. This is why my blog posts have been a little erratic and random and for that I’m sorry guys! Don’t hate the player, #hatethegame! The other night I was lucky enough to dance at the Royal Albert Hall in London so I thought I would share a little step-by-step low down of how my makeup goes before a big competition. I generally tend to stick to the same idea every time but every now and then I like to mix up the colours to co-ordinate with my dress.. otherwise I’m more of a natural gal. Guess what, this time was no different! I wore a canary yellow dress so I decided to keep the look quite neutral and maybe throw in a bit of purple to bring out the hazel in my eyes and pair it with a banging red lip. I’ve written it out as a type of step-by-step, get ready with me tutorial so that hopefully you can follow along the dot points with me for those times that you are getting ready for a comp! So, let’s get started 🙂

First up it’s time to prime. I already washed and moisturised my face, so I’m just going to smooth Rimmel Fix and Protect makeup primer all over my face.

I blend that out with my beauty blender and then set those ares with Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent.

Next up, time to set my WHOLE face. This part is super important I feel as it will really keep your makeup in place when times get tough out there! I apply MAC Studio Fix in C4 all over my face with a fluffy brush trying to hit the outer perimeters of my face more as I want to keep the parts already set with the Laura Mercer powder lighter. Does that make any sense at all?

I then bronze up my cheekbones with Bahama mama by The Balm. Awesome product btw, I only just purchased it and I’m in love. It’s not orange at all and the packaging is so cute!! This can be purchased in Target stores in Australia but I bought it here in London at Superdrug.

Foundation

Love this Bronzer!

Base done!

Once my face is pretty much done, I then like to start working on my eyes. I have a very old, very awesome eyeshadow palette by Chacott that I won at a competition in Japan (see palette here) that I pretty much use every dang comp. If you can get your hands on ANYTHING by Chacott I highly recommend it. The brand is built for dancers and the quality of their products is off the chain. Anyway, back to the task at hand! Today I’m applying an orange-y brown to my crease and then joining to the outer corner of my eye. BLEND WELL.

Then I like to take a black pencil or eyeliner and carve out a bit of a sideways ‘V’ on the outer corners of my eyes. Don’t worry if this part is rough as it’s just a base!

On top of the liner I then apply a dark purple shade from my Chacott palette over the top with a small angle brush. I then go in with a small fluffy brush and blend it all out til smoooooth.

I keep adding purple shadow and blending until I’m happy with the depth and then finally go in with MAC Carbon (matte black eyeshadow) and really draw in a strong corner with my angle brush and then DONT BLEND!

Once I’ve done enough with the purple shadow I then like to go back in with the brown and make sure the two colours are blended together well and that the brown is still strong.

I then take a small brush and fill my inner corner of my eye and brow line with white eyeshadow bringing it down right into the tear duct.

Under my eye I did white in the inner corner and lined the dark purple quite close to the lash line and then blended out with the brown shadow underneath that.

Brown eye shadow

black eyeliner

Bit of a close up!

Next I fill in my waterline with a white eyeliner, I’m using a MaxFactor Kohl Pencil and I then line my eyes with a strong cat eye flick using a black liquid liner.

I then like to move on to my brows, if you want to know how and what I do with my brows then click here. Today I’m using a mix of MAC Cranberry and a dark brown eyeshadow from the Dior 609 Earth Reflection palette.

Now its time for blush and I’m going for my all time favourite comp colour Dollymix by MAC.

For highlighter I’m using Mary-Lou manizer by The Balm and I’m applying on my cheek bones, down the centre of my shnoz and on my cupid’s bow.

MAC Dollymix on ze cheeks!

Highlighter of my dreams!

Falsies time! I’m using an asian brand of falsies today by the brand Dolly Wink and they are the style sweet girly.. too cute!

Once the lashes are secure I lather both my real and false lashes with a couple of coats of mascara to blend them together and hold them to one another. Today I’m using Maybelline The Falsies but I like all Maybelline mascara’s actually.

Last part is the lips and today I’m wearing a liquid lipstick by The Balm called Devoted. This lipstick drys matte and goes nowhere! Perfect for comps! On top of that I then put on some glittery as hell lip gloss by MIKI that I have no idea where I purchased from.

Once finished the perfectionist in me checks my eyes and maybe touches up the liquid liner or fixes up any conundrums with the blending and then BOOM! It’s setting spray time! I give a couple of sprays of Maybelline super stay 24hr Fixative spray and then Bob’s my uncle!

Now its time for the real fun to begin! I’m so sorry I’ve only posted one blog post this week but girl has been biz-zay! Im heading back to Oz this weekend so hopefully things will be back to normal ASAP. Hope you enjoyed this and if you have any questions or queries don’t be shy and leave me some comments 🙂

So, you get your new ballroom dress, wear it a few (or more) times and start to get that sinking feeling that it might be time to give the ol girl a wash. Washing your gown for the first time can be a fairly daunting experience; what if all the stones fall off? Will the colours run together? what on earth do I do with it now it's soaking wet?!! But, not to worry as I have washed many a dress over the years (friends dresses included) and this is how I like to do it 🙂

Time for a wash!

First of all I recommend you get your hands on some Vanish Oxi Action fabric stain remover (pink containers). All of the pink Vanish products are fine, I've tried the powder form and the spray but prefer the spray as I can target problem areas. This stuff is like liquid gold for washing dresses. Lipstick stain? see ya later. Fake tan marks? bye! This special product was recommended to me from my previous dressmaker in London who had told me she once used it to get a red wine stain out of a white dress! So yeah, no more needs to be said... it's a miracle worker.

Febreze Spray + Vanish Oxi Action

Here's a little list of what you will need:

Vanish Oxi Action (powder or spray)

normal washing liquid of choice

bathtub or large sink

washing machine (please don't stress about this and just keep reading!!)

gloves (optional)

Lets get to it!

Ask yourself the question do I want to wash the whole dress or just do a spot clean? If it's just a spot wash then still follow the same instructions but only do so with the parts of the dress that need washing. I personally don't opt for spot washes and prefer to wash the whole dress at a time as some materials are prone to water marks. In saying that though I've also had great success with some spot washes when the dress isn't really that dirty. You don't want to over-wash your ballroom gown.

Fill your bathtub/sink with lukewarm water (not too hot, or you risk the chance of melting the stones right off your dress! #notideal). Add in a tiny amount of washing liquid and either spray the Vanish on problem areas or put a small amount of the powder into the water. I would probably use a tablespoon in a sink or a few table spoons in the bathtub. Just try to go easy on the washing products as no one wants a crusty dress for the following comp!

Put the dress in the water. Go on, get it in there! Now you can work on getting out the marks (if any) and just give the dress a general scrub. I usually do this by rubbing the material together and do this until it's clean. Give the dress a good swish and squeeze and then drain the water, holding the dress to the side of the tub.

Once the water has drained, refill the tub with cold water ONLY. This cools the glue under the stones and rinses any excess cleaning product out of the dress.

Now, up to you but I like to put the bodice of my dress into a pillow slip for protection before I then put it in the washing machine. Once its all squeezed into the washing machine set it to spin on low or if you can put it on a gentle spin cycle.

Try not to freak out while your dress is spinning a million miles an hour...

Pull your dress out of the machine and WA-LAH! Brand new dress 🙂 I like to hang it out to continue to dry, if your skirt is extra heavy you can place it over a chair to dry so that the weight of the skirt doesn't pull on the bodice.

Get it in there!

Goodbye tan marks!

Clean sleeves

Ahhh.. Fresh Dress 🙂

In between washes I like to use Febreze fabric refresher which kills bacteria and really helps to keep the dresses fresh! They have so many different flavours and are really great for when you are travelling and don't have the time/space to wash your dress. I just spray it onto the areas needed, leave for a few minutes and then pat dry with a towel.

Hopefully some of these ideas helped you! I've tried this same method with all my dresses ranging from velvet to silk and its always worked out fine. I would take care with feathers though.. when I've washed dresses with feathers I tend to do the spot wash method and if you do happen to accidentally get some feathers wet the hairdryer works a treat in getting them back nice and fluffy 🙂 Also, don't be afraid of the spin cycle, it really is the best thing to get rid of all that excess water so your dress will dry so much quicker! Just be sure to pop your machine on a gentle cycle or on a lower speed spin.

My dress sponsored by Embody Dancewear

If you have any more questions or queries please feel free to comment below 🙂 All my beautiful dresses are sponsored by Embody Dancewear.

HAPPY WASHING!

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Rachelle is a 27 year old Australian Professional Ballroom Champion living in Sydney, NSW. Travelling the world she is constantly inspired by whatever surrounds her and that is reflected in Pink Suede. Have a look around and enjoy!